ProPublica on Twitter

Post Mortem

In TV crime dramas and detective novels, every suspicious death is investigated by a highly trained medical professional, equipped with sophisticated 21st century technology.

The reality in America’s morgues is quite different. ProPublica, in collaboration with PBS “Frontline” and NPR, took an in-depth look at the nation’s 2,300 coroner and medical examiner offices and found a deeply dysfunctional system that quite literally buries its mistakes.

A joint investigation by ProPublica, PBS “Frontline” and NPR looks into nearly two dozen cases in which people were accused of killing children based on flawed forensic opinions and then later cleared.More »

There are no national standards for forensic experts. This is how I, a journalism grad student, became certified by the American College of Forensic Examiners International, a leading provider of forensic credentials.

Child deaths are especially challenging for coroners and medical examiners because several diseases have symptoms that can mimic those of abuse. Dr. Michael Laposata and his colleagues have designed a series of blood tests to diagnose such disorders more accurately.

The fate of Shirley Ree Smith, convicted of shaking to death her 7-week-old grandson, is in the hands of California's governor. Child deaths can pose special problems for forensic pathologists. Unfortunately, many forensic pathologists aren't prepared to deal with the complexity of such cases.

For almost eight years, Linda Carswell has been trying to find out how her husband died. Her quest has led to a fraud judgment against a hospital as well as autopsy reform in Texas. But she’s still seeking answers — and the return of his heart.

Reporters covering the criminal justice system rarely look at coroners or medical examiners -- instead we focus on cops and prosecutors and defense attorneys and defendants. A guide to examining death investigations.

The Casey Anthony trial riveted America, with many TV experts and viewers near-certain of the young mother’s guilt. But with no eyewitnesses or confession, the case demonstrated how difficult it was to prove how 2-year-old Caylee died to a scientific certainty.

As part of an ongoing look into the troubled state of death investigation, ProPublica, PBS "Frontline" and NPR identified nearly two dozen cases in the U.S. and Canada in which people have been accused of killing children based on flawed or biased work by forensic pathologists, then later cleared.

A joint investigation by ProPublica, PBS "Frontline" and NPR looks into nearly two dozen cases in which people were accused of killing children based on flawed forensic opinions and then later cleared.